


My Better Half

by S_S_A_F_R_R



Series: Journey of the Fool [1]
Category: Megamind - Fandom
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Gen, Mystery/Suspense, Romance/Adventure, Slow Build, scifi/fantasy, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-21
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-01-25 23:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1666859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_S_A_F_R_R/pseuds/S_S_A_F_R_R
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A dead man once said, "There's a Yin for every Yang." When Megamind is distracted during a live interview, what will he go through to earn back his already shaky heroic image? How will such actions affect his growing relationship with his favorite nosy reporter? Who will win in the battle of the Minds? And what does fate have in store for everyone whom the blue alien holds dear?<br/>[fic currently under reconstruction from original draft.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Ill-Fated Race

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The fandom](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+fandom).



> Ok, so I started this fic on FF.net like, 3 years ago after I first watched the movie. 
> 
> Well, I kinda stalled out on it and have been taking a break from it to kinda "clear my head."
> 
> So now, I hate how it looked up there. It's just. ugh. What was I thinking? I was young ok? I was naive. 
> 
> Well, I decided to get back into it and just do a complete revamp of it and just start over from scratch. 
> 
> So here you have it. 
> 
> Completely ignore the one of FF XD
> 
> So... uh...
> 
> Enjoy?
> 
> P.S. I also felt compelled to tweak the timeline/ages of everyone involved for plot reasons. I understand it may not be CANON to movieverse but, well, it's just going to work better for the story purposes.

_28 years prior to the defeat of Tighten…_

The sliding door chirped to announce the entrance of the last customer for that day.

“Welcome! Welcome to The Miniontorium! How may I serve—oh!” The owner of the shop widened his dark eyes and excitedly bowed his large blue head to his unexpected patron, “Why, my lady _diva_! It’s an _honor!_ ”

The woman with bright green eyes smiled and returned his bow amused, “Please, you’re too kind.”

Straightening up, the bald man with the wire thin mustache gestured excitedly around his overcrowded shop; Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, aquariums filled with different types of talking fish made the already small store feel cramped. Glimpses could be seen in the backroom where a Blue Marlin minion in a large fluid-filled floating sphere was busy at the controls of a robotic apparatus used for straightening and organizing the stock.

The shop owner clapped his hands together excitedly, “You have no idea what an _privilege_ it is that you come into _my_ shop— and today of _all days_ no less! I have always been a huge fan of your work—why I _just_ managed to attend one of your last performances before your retirement!”

The diva touched her dark lips and gave a modest laugh, “I’m always happy to meet a fan. It was a difficult decision to make, but it won’t be a permanent break – just until my son is old enough for the academia.” Her smile spoke of a calmness she didn't feel.

The shop owner continued on, nodding excitedly and straightened himself in the hopes of regaining an air of professionalism, “Yes, yes, _congratulations_ to both you and your partner! That is the precise reason why you are here, I trust?”

The blue woman’s smile faltered just slightly. “Yes... I am in the process of looking for a minion for him, yes. He’s eight days old today and…” she paused, glancing around the shop, looking a little unsettled, “My partner and I are preparing to take a trip to visit his sister on Nhao soon... very soon. Today even. So while he’s finishing his last minute errands with the political guild, I decided that I better get our child one – just... just in case.” She quieted then, watching her companion with no small amount fo apprehension. 

The keeper nodded again, his excitement evaporating instantly. The atmosphere had been downright electric since the day that… _she_  arrived…

 “Of course, I understand completely. You would not be the first to have come into my shop in the past week...” Then he led the woman down one aisle of aquariums. “There have been many families that are preparing for the worst since Lady Samekh’s… sudden return… oh. Forgive me.” The shopkeeper suddenly realized he spoke out of turn, “I’ve forgotten about what happened with—“

Clearly discomfited, the woman raised her hand solemnly, “It’s alright. With everyone standing on a razor’s edge lately…” with a sudden breath, she paused and shook her head when a worried crease appeared between her elegant black eyebrows, “I apologize, I wish to be home in time for my husband…”

“Yes, yes. This way,” The keeper hurried along towards the back wall where a whole multitude of young Minions were kept; Brim, Catfish, Sheephead, Angler Fish, Black Drum, Parrot fish, Goldfish, Koi, Salmon, Clown fish, pretty much every fish that ever took to fin were lined the walls and aisles of the shop, all of whom chatting up a storm, some swimming towards the glass of their tanks vying for her attention.

“This week we have a wonderful sale on Barracuda!” The salesman announced happily with an open palm gesture to a large tank that held a long-bodied, menacing looking fish with fierce eyes.

“Ooooh, Barracuda?” When she leaned closer to examine it, it swung close and growled a sinister greeting before turning and swimming back the way it came, “Um, I don’t think so…” she quickly explained, “I have a cat shark minion myself and my partners’ a grouper so… maybe something along those lines?”

“Oh course, and might I also say that Tuna is very _in_ this season! I myself have a Blue Marlin, our own planet’s mascot, and my cousin has always been satisfied with his Lionfish.”

The clerk showed her his stock of Gar, the flounders, a great white pup (his last in stock), and with each show his favorite customer looked more and more unimpressed and he was quickly becoming desperate.

“Tell you what? Since you’re my favorite artist, how about I give you a Pike 30% off market value... I guarantee you won't see a price like that anywhere else - what do you say?”

“A pike huh...?” she rubbed her small chin, green eyes sparkling with interest. “Well... hm… that _is_ tempting…” then, while still in the _P_ ’s her eyes landed on a tank filled with Piranha.

 “Hmmm?” She walked closer and peered within into the fish tank where a small crowd of the large carnivores fought for her attention.

 “Me! Pick me!”

 “No, pick me I’m the _strongest_!”

 “Gimme a steak!” they each argued, baring their sharp teeth in a kind, yet, all the same, aggressive manner. “We haven’t eaten in for the last five minutes!”

"We're _starving!_ "

 “Ahh, yes.” The shop clerk followed with some dispassion, “Piranhas. They are loyal... Fiercely... Some have said, almost overwhelmingly... Not my most popular of varieties, I will admit... especially _that_ one..."

Past the much bigger and more aggressive Minions who were crowding around for her (or more food, whichever) was a Piranha who was at least half their size in the back of the tank busily arranging the aquarium gravel and the decorative weeds in a makeshift little room.

"In all honesty, _Star of the Glau_ , It would behoove me to recommend the, er, _vast_ variety of other Minions I--"

But his guest wasn't listening. Instead she watched the one Piranha, smiling softly as it bBackfinned and  admired his work before darting to the side and picking up small rocks and balancing them atop one another.

“That one.” She pointed, her face alight. “I want that one, that small one in the back.”

Slightly doubtful, the owner scratched his bald blue head quizzically, “Um, that one Madame?”

She straightened up, her smile sure and nodded, “Yes, he’s definitely the one I want.”

“Are you _sure_? I mean, he’s so _tiny_ … He barely eats what I give the others. I keep telling him a _'servants purpose is to serve'_ and he counters with something silly like, _'there is nothing wrong with providing a service such as quality interior decorating.'_   Honestly have you ever heard of such a silly thing?”

But the woman reached into the pocket of her white suit for her credits, renewed in her flurry to get back home.

“Yes. He shall be mine and he shall be my son’s.”

The tone in her voice did not leave room for rebuttal.

* * *

 Walking home along the busy light way, with the tiny Piranha in the glass globe, held gently in her arms, looked around excitedly.

“Ma’am,” He piped up at her curiously, “Where’re we goin’?”

“Back home,” She smiled reassuringly, even if the crease between her brows deepened. “You’re going to love my son, the two of you will be the best of friends. Hmm...” she hummed, glancing around them anxiously, musical voice a murmur."And once we arrive home, we are to set out for Nhao as quickly as we can..."

“But,” the fish looked around shyly, “I’m really small and, um, the others said I was, uh, too picky with everything – but I can’t help it!” his brown eyes looked up passionately, “I just really, really, find it irresistible to _decorate_!”

The diva laughed at that, pausing in her walk, raised him to eye level, “Oh, darling, sometimes the greatest of things come in the smallest packages. And besides, if my son grows up to be anything like his _father_ , we’re going to need all the help we can—“

She paused when several transporting ships erupted from various homes and buildings all around her. Both she and the minion in her arms watched as these ships left their planet’s atmosphere, leaving behind a white jet stream to vanish into the great beyond.

“What was that?” The Minion queried and was startled to see the look of worry on his new masters’ face, “Ma’am?”

“Oh no…” she breathed. “Please no…”

Tucking the globe protectively against her stomach, the star of the Glaupunkt took off into a run but before she could get more than a few paces a voice, as cold and as harsh as the deepest depths of space echoed throughout the sky as more ships were fired off the planet,

_“ALL WHO OPPOSE ME SHALL PERISH BEFORE MY MIGHT!”_

Stopping again, the woman looked to the sky and stared in horror as their sun, “Toai”, the heart of their system, appeared a bit brighter than normal as a sudden dark swirling mass imploded just off behind it.

“No… no, no, _no_!” she whispered as fear enveloped her completely, “Oh Samekh, how _could_ you?!”

The sun’s light seemed to twist and pull and in short time, her people screamed as they realized what was happening. Flames from the sun were torn away into arms, swirling around it as the dark mass seemed to blossom off to the side of the quadrant.

The woman launched into a run, holding the little fish close to her body as she passed blue people who varied in skin tone as well as head sizes.

In fear the young Minion just watched through her fingers and kept quiet focusing on her panic gasps.

The light began to turn into various colors as bands of the sun were peeled away as if it were a piece of fruit being stripped away and swallowed by the growing halo of darkness.

“It’s taking Cri-on!” One female shouted in anguish.

Minion’s new owner stopped and they watched as a neighboring planet was engulfed entirely by the black hole, swallowing it completely even as their super-giant Toai fought to stay alive.

“Those poor people…” she mumbled before continuing on her flee home, dodging more and more people as escape pods continued to launch upward.

One blue male rammed into the former diva, knocking her completely off her feet and she shrieked when the fish rolled away from her.

“Ma’am!” he called!

“No!” the new mother struggled to her feet, dodging those escaping their home system’s fate.  _“Minion!”_

Although he was only in his glass sphere, he managed to roll towards her unsteadily and she scooped him up, clutching him to her chest as she continued to run. “It will be ok, love, you’re going to be ok!” she chanted to soothe him but did so more to herself.

How could this be happening?

Finally, her home, with its silver-white and blue domed glory appeared in the distance and she continued running, ignoring the pain in her side and squeezed the Aquarian in relief – her partner’s transporter was parked haphazardly on their lawn. He was home. They could escape together – as a family!

She panted and gasped as she entered into their home, momentarily dismayed at the sight of their belongings strewn about in her husband’s attempt in packing for their escape.

“Oh _thank_ goodness,” the voice of her love came in bated breath. His long blue face was full of worry and he appeared to be sweating in utter terror,

“I came home as fast as I could! I have the baby’s pod packed and ready. We have to leave – _now!_ ”

They both turned and ran down the hall until they came upon their evacuation station where both of their Minions were busily typing away coordinates. In the center of the room were three spherical pods, two large and one small in between them. A small crib was rested in the far corner, their little son cooing and babbling within it.

“Does your sister know? Is she ready for our arrival?” she asked her husband as she placed the newest Minion down on the table and prepared for travel; he was already dressed in his white hyper sleep travel suit and she hurried to put hers’ on as well over her own clothes.

He shook his head, brown eyes in pain, “Nhao’s on _lock down_!”

His wife froze staring at him in disbelief, “What? No… no that can’t be…”

Brown eyes met greens and his voice was only a whisper,

“It’s true… no one gets in… no one gets out… any and all messages to and from the planet is being heavily monitored…”

 But she swallowed, pulling her suit over her delicate blue shoulders,

“But… but what about Xilique? Ha’lu?! Surely we-we can--”

“Samekh’s taken control of _everything_!” He leaned on the counter, face twisted in anguish,

“Nyku was right from the very start… those fools… Our only chance is to hide within a _colony_. Dirk and I changed the rendezvous point - we’ll all meet up there and I’ll contact Kirkee when it’s safe. Dirk, are you there?”

On the large computer screen above them, a largely sculpted, stern face of his longtime friend and colleague appeared and with sharp gray eyes and nodded, “Aye. Rael and I are ready when you are.”

“I’m sending the coordinates to the Fenri 7 system now—“

“ _Fenri 7?!_ ” his mate nearly scoffed behind him, “You can't be serious! There is _nothing_ in--!”

 “--it’s the most likely place that’ll support a colony and it’ll keep us all safe until I can get a hold of my sister. Dirk…” he sent the coordinates to the man of their neighboring planet, Bayan of the Gluapunckt quadrant, “I hope you and your son will be safe…”

His friend nodded sadly, “Aye. You and yours as well, my friend. See you in Fenri 7.” Then the connection closed.

"Fenri 7." His wife started again in utter disbelief. "The backwaters of the universe. Really."

Whipping his large blue head around, her husband was about to snap when, the deep bass of his Minion, the grouper shouted, “Master! The _sun_!”

The adults turned their attention back to the vid monitor in confusion as Toai’s flames were now swirling into a tight spiral, the sun itself growing smaller and smaller with each passing second.

“No…” Her mate whispered.

And just like that, without so much as a bang, their beloved sun was pulled into the hole. 

A whisper of a chill instantly descended upon the blasting pad. The baby in the corner let out a sudden strangled cry of confusion.

“What’s happenin’?” the newest fish asked frantically, “W’ass goin’ on? Why won’ anybody tell me anythin’?”

The cat shark minionette frowned down at it sadly, “The sun is gone little one. We’ll all die if we stay here.”

“No!” the master of the house challenged angrily, “We are _not_ going to die here.”

With a look of sheer determination he stabbed a finger at the largest fish and ordered,

“Finish the coordinates! We’ll send our son out first with his Minion and then we’ll follow onward to Fenri 7!”

“Master,” The grouper began and he stopped to look at his fish that held an unhappy expression,

“Master, I’m afraid Minionette and I cannot go.”

“What?” both of the blue people asked in unison.

The cat shark nodded sadly, “There would not be enough room for us with you in the pods…” then it knocked a fist on its bulky body.

“Then leave your bodies! We can rebuild you new ones within a day!” the diva ordered, her voice clear.

“The distance from here to Fenri 7 involves us to be placed into hyper sleep. We’re too old… we cannot make the journey.” The grouper rumbled.

“Go Mistress. We will make sure you four will escape in time.” The cat shark mewled pitifully, small eyes sad.

Her husband turned to his wife, "It… might be our only chance…"

But this wasn’t right… this was not how she had planned this… Here she was, a new mother with the love of her life, the heart of her star… She had planned for their baby to grow up into…

Holding back her tears, she nodded.

After securing their newborn son into his escape pod, his mother tried to smile reassuringly, this wasn't for forever after all. His ship was programmed to meet theirs in Fenri 7 with Dirk and his son, and once her mate, his loving father, could get in contact her sister-in-law, they will all be together once more. A family again.

"Here is your Minion," she placed her newly bought fish into the pod with him, "He will take care of you."

"And here is your B.I.N.K.E-Y." Her partner added, placing their people’s power source into their son's mouth. As the pod's door began to close he put in for the final time, "You were destined for greatness..."

“I don’t think he heard you darling…”

“I’ll remind him when we reunite.”

They stood back as the pod shot into the air and vanished from sight, onward to where they assumed was Fenri 7. But unfortunately for them, fate had other plans for the blue babe.

"Master!" their Minions called behind them, "If you do not hurry, you will be doomed along with us!"

The lovers looked at their fish one more time.

"We will never forget your sacrifice." Their Lady said, and the two turned to look at each other for one final time.

Her mate forced a smile on his blue lips and cupped her round face, "It will only be a short time, my love."

She swallowed her bitterness and nodded, and he pulled her into one last kiss, his soft beard tickled her chin and she memorized the feeling of him touching her…

Without a second longer, they equally broke apart and entered their pods each waving to their Minions who stood side by side and waved back as they too flew into the sky and out of the black hole's gravitational pull.

There were only precious seconds left for the fish as they looked at the screen to see the countdown near zero as the mass of black took up the entirety of the monitor.

 "Minion." The cat shark looked at the grouper who gazed solemnly back at her.

"Hold me."

The grouper held her as they were swallowed by the oncoming darkness.

* * *

 

Time is relative.

And in space, what may pass for one day for one being, could be a year for another.

And yet, through some cosmic loophole, a voyage that had been predestined for one solar system, in another galaxy, two infants from a lost star system travelled faster than light; one, a golden bullet shaped vessel that held a remarkably smooth passage, the other a sphere that bounced and dinged through many an asteroid belt.

The Minion, watched in a panic as both he and his new born master watched the stars flew by them.

“Where are we going?” The minion asked more to himself than the babbling baby. “Is this the way to Fenri 7?”

Through veils of golden radiation, the two pods soared among the stars, the white bands of the wormhole exploded around them in brilliant displays of energy and light.

Minion did his best to maneuver his crystal sphere towards their little window to see if he can see their golden companion pod; the baby of which waved at them with a wink.

But where were the others? Where were his other masters? The baby’s parentals?

The fish had a sneaking suspicion that something was terribly wrong but he couldn’t put his fin on it.

Finally, after some time, (possibly many light years) through a blaze of fire, the two pods materialize out of nowhere!  And quite suddenly, a small blue planet appeared in front of them! A tiny golden sun shined down on them brightly in the distance and Minion let out a bubble of worry.

“Is this the end?!” Minion squeaked uncertainly.

“Perhaps the Masters are already there waiting for us…” He hoped, trying to soothe the panicky babe. “Don’t cry sir, we’ll be ok!”

They entered the planet’s atmosphere, the force of which burned against their vessels.

The baby behind him gave a cry of fear and clung to the fish’s bowl tightly; the minion itself gulped.

Once they were through the atmosphere of the planet, they fell through stormy clouds into the gray morning, the ground rising quickly to meet them.

* * *

 

 _BWONG!_ They bounced.

Did he land in lap of luxury? No.

 _BWONG!_ The space pod boinged again.

Apparently not! Even Fate played favorites.

 _BWONG!_ It had to end sometime!

No big deal.  A much different fate awaited the blue newborn.

 _BWONG!_ There! In the distance! An ominous square building awaited their arrival.

Luckily, unlike his future rival, the son of his father’s Glautian colleague, the blue boy finally bounced into a prison for the criminally gifted – what a lovely little place to call home.

“Warden!” Officer Morris burst through the office of the head of said prison in a state of confusion.

“You have to _see_ this! It-it-it just _fell_ from the sky! Ben and Geoff are bringing it up now!”

The brown haired thirty year old man looked up from his file, and nodded.

“Alright Gordon… you’ve waited all your life for this moment.”

Standing at attention behind his desk, straightened his coal black suit and buttoned his blazer in anticipation before waving to the officer to tell the others to bring it in.

Pride welled up within him as a group of officers carried what looked like a beaten up round metal orb, blackened from burning in the atmosphere…

They settled it on his desk and he grinned in excitement, _This is it… this is what you’ve been waiting for Haywood…_

Taking a breath, he placed his hands on the lid and prepared himself. _Prepare yourself for glory…_

The window was dark, he could barely see the tiny figures within until his fingers found the lip of the door and lifted the door.

_“Ah-bah-bah-bah!”_

And closed it again.  That wasn’t right; the guards all looked at Warden expectantly.

“He’s blue.”

They blinked stupidly back at him, surprised by the reaction of their superior.

“Well, yeah, but holy shit, _alien!_ ”

He lifted the door again to see the infant chewing on its foot.

“You’re blue.”

“That’s right!” came a tiny voice next to the alien baby – from a small fish with a severe under bite.

“I’ll bite your fingers off if you lay one hand on Lil’ Sir!”

Warden’s look of disappointed look turned deadpanned.

“…And you talk. Marvelous.”

The officers looked from him to one another, noting the look of sheer utter disappointment instead of what they assumed would be a normal reaction or “Oh wow! An alien fell in our prison!”

“Um, Sir, I think you’re missing the point…” Morris stated with a questioning look.  “a _thing_ not from here _fell_ in our _prison_.”

Warden Haywood looked at the men seriously before barking out a command,

“All of you – out of my office! One word of this outside the prison and it’ll be _Mall Cop_ duty till retirement!”

The three nodded and practically climbed over one another to heed his command, unsure of what was happening.

Once they was alone, the brown haired human eyed the baby and fish skeptically,

“Alright, so… you can talk obviously… What’s your name, fish.”

The question took the Piscean off guard and he blinked in confusion,

“I’m… a Minion…”

“I mean your _name_ , son.”

“Minion.”

“No, no…” the adult pinched the bridge of his nose with a frustrated sigh, “The name that others refer you by.”

The being fluttered his large brown eyes and looked at the baby who was far too busy chewing on his hand now.

“Minion…”

The man looked down at him for a long time.

“Your name is _Minion_ …”

“Yes, sir.”

“Great. Perfect. And his?”

This time a panicked look grew on his tiny scaley face and he swam in a circle within his orb.

“I don’t know! The mistress never told me! And-and the master was s-so busy! Everything was falling _apart_ and there was a _hole_ in the sky and-and it swallowed the sun _and--!_ ”  He swam in circles in a panic. “—where are we?! Is this Fenri 7? Are the Master and Mistress here?!”

He shook his head, his gut sinking. “You’re on planet Earth of the Milky Way galaxy. I’m afraid don’t know _where_ Fenri is…”

Minion froze in mid swim and stared up at him in terror. Slowly he began to float upward, tilting a little in the water in absolute defeat. He… he failed. His… his very first mission and he completely failed it…

“We were all supposed to meet up… and be a family… How will I? I had just one job…”

The warden sighed, feeling a resigned sense of pity for the creature. “Alright, alright, calmed down… you didn’t fail.”

The baby behind the fish kicked his legs and nommed on what looked like a glowing pacifier, the minion on the other hand looked beyond despondent.

“What am I supposed to do? Without the masters I can’t do this by myself… Oh…” the piscean’s face scrunched up and he looked as if he were about to cry. “What purpose does the servant serve without someone to serve?”

The older human rubbed his neck in discomfort, frowning at such an admission, “Er, well, uh, listen; just relax and take deep, uh… deep breaths and chill out, alright? Getting worked up isn’t going to solve anything, is it? Now just stay calm and we’ll get this whole thing straightened out for you two soon enough… You’ve had a long journey I take it? Can I get you both any uh… any refreshments?”

 

* * *

 

 

Once he was certain that the two were resting in the corner of his office, Warden sat at his desk and looked at his black phone. In deep thought, he drummed his fingers on cluttered surface, looking back on his life and wondering when, if ever, he was told that he would be responsible for… well… _this!_

Grey eyes flicked from the rotary to the space pod with its passengers nestled safely in the corner.

 Maybe it was just a _mistake_ … Maybe the two’s paths got crossed and they ended at the wrong landings?

He couldn’t take not knowing, he didn’t want to leave this a mystery…

Deciding what to do, Warden reached for the phone but hesitated for a just a moment until he shook his head absolutely and ripped the phone from its cradle and spun the dial with the right number.

It ringed once and he tapped his fingers impatiently.

It rang again and he huffed in annoyance.

On the third ring, (much to his relief), a woman picked up, her voice practically _alive_ with excitement,

_“Scott Mansion, Lady speaking—“_

“Lady, it’s Gordon.”

_“Gordy! Merry Christmas!”_

“Yeah. Yeah, listen – did Santa leave you any… er… presents…?”

Her response was a squeal and Gordon’s heart sank in dismay.

_“Yes! Our baby can fly! Can yours?”_

He ignored her query and steeled himself, knowing the answer before it came. “Please tell me it’s blue.”

_“No… He’s perfectly normal looking… Why? Isn’t yours?”_

“Nope. In fact that’s all he is! _Blue!_ ”

 _“Ah. Well…”_ the woman’s voice faltered a little bit, he imagined her looking around for a way out. _“That’s… strange, yes.”_

He tapped his fingers on the desk again, clearing his throat,

“You see, my thinking is they uh, switched places on their way to Earth… see, uh, I think you ended up having _mine_ and, uh, I might have _yours_ so, uh, how about we meet up sometime today and, you know… _make a trade_ …?”

The response on the other end began with silence and ended with a resounding, _“No.”_

“What?”

 _“Gordon, we’re not kids anymore – these babies aren’t trading cards – you can’t just pick and choose which one you want... You and I have been waiting for this day for_ years _and now that it’s finally_ here _, and you want a_ do-over _?”_

The man couldn’t help laughing at that and rubbed his dark mustache in growing aggravation,“I think you’re missing the point here, Lady… You see, we were both promised _heroes_ and-and uh, haha, the one I have is _blue!_ ”

_“Yes, blue, you’ve made that point perfectly clear.”_

Gordon glanced at the ship and turned around in his chair, the effort it took for him to maintain calm made him hiss into the receiver.

“No, you don’t understand! Heroes are not blue! This one is _! How am I supposed to raise this one to be a fully functioning adult in society?!”_

_“Some heroes are blue…”_

“Who?!”

_“Um…”_

“You see!”

_“Honestly Gordon, you’re really over thinking this – just work with him – he’s just a baby.”_

“You’re not even here to see them! There’s a talking fish – and that one is green!”

The woman on the other end scoffed before saying in a very matter of fact voice, _“Really Gordon. Does it seriously make a difference what he is? He’s a child that lost his family – his entire planet!  Just give him more attention – see that there’s more to him than meets the eye.”_

For a long moment Warden was speechless and stood up, walking with the phone to peer inside the space pod where the blue baby alien slept curled around his fish, both sleeping soundly.

Gordon frowned in indecision before finally his said,

“He’s blue.”

The response wasn’t what he expected.

_“Good-bye Mr. Scrooge. Merry Christmas.”_

And she hung up.

Stareing at the phone in his hand, Gordon stared at it in disbelief.

“You gotta be…”

Below him, a whimper escaped the blue invader, bright green eyes opening to look up at the disappointment on the human’s face.\\.

 

* * *

 

_28 years and a week post the defeat of Tighten…_

“ _Oooh_ look at the floating brain bots…” The Metro Bandit cooed dizzily when the police shoved him in the backseat of their car. “ _Alll_ floaty around muh head, _bowg, bowg, bowg…”_

The squad car’s door slammed shut; the cyborgs floated on the other size flexing their jaws and curiously tapping the window.  After taking a few quick statements, the deputy’s car, with its passenger sped towards the jail.

“That’ll teach you to steal from orphans!” Megamind announced triumphantly from the back of Spyder Bot.

“But didn’t we used to steal from orphans too?” His best friend, Minion, reminded him from the street.

Corrected, the blue genius’s eyes flicked back and forth before he played it off,

“Yes… well… they were a rather shifty lot… those orphans….”

The Piscean rolled his eyes; clearly his boss would say anything to save face.

“Clearly.”

Although they finally caught the crook, Megamind couldn’t help feeling a little put out.

“What’s wrong sir?” his best friend asked when he found his boss looking through the surrounding public hopefully. “You’re looking downright blue.”

“Huh? Oh. Nothing.” The blue alien sighed with a noticeable slump before unstrapping himself from the seat of the mechanical spider-crab.

Watching his boss climb down from their creation, “It’s Miss Ritchi, huh?”

“Hm? Oh, uh… Nope! I don’t know what you mean.” Megamind countered and hurriedly turned his back, patting the large robot next to them excitedly,

“Who’s a _good boy_?! Yes you! You scared that mean robber man, didn’t you? _Didn’t you?!_ ”

“Bark.” It replied in a monotone of happy.

Minion on the other fin just gave them a “You’re not fooling me” kind of look and waved him off.

“Oh come on, you’ve been nothing but a big headed grump - she’s just… you know… busy… with stuff.” The fish tried but frowned when his ward instantly turned to face him in worry,

“It’s not just… I don’t know… It’s been a week since Tighten and… here I am… no longer messing things up... It just feels weird. Like I’m not myself; I mean, before the fight you and I were just like that bandit.  And now?”  He gestured to the cheering crowd now surrounding the two with a large head jerk,

 “There’s this.”

Minion glanced around before nodding in agreement, “Well I admit – it’s an adjustment. I’m still not used to people asking for my autograph.”

The brand new hero sighed to himself, “I’ve changed, Minion and my favorite reporter isn’t here to see it.”

* * *

 

_At this moment, with City Hall._

Dressed in a business casual tweed suit, Roxanne Ritchi huffed as she impatiently tapped her pen against her notepad. She was getting more than a little tired of these petty little sit ins that were for the rubes;  She was a professional for goodness sake! What purpose did she serve being stuck here in the lobby of the Mayor’s office doing shit interviews, when Megamind was out there saving the day?

But no, being that she’s the “star reporter” that risked her life for “the biggest story of the century” Larson had been keeping her on light duty, thanks to a certain “nice guy” villain.

 _Tap! Tap! Tap!_ Her pen sounded, irritably. Then her blue eyes caught sight of a small television that sat in the corner, displaying the days’ news reports.

There was something about a thief and orphans but who really dominated the screen was the blue hero himself, Megamind.

Rising from her seat, the reporter strode in her favorite red pumps (still a little stiff from the fight a week prior) over to the set and raised the volume.

Some young blond hotshot reporter was standing next to the alien and was carelessly flinging the microphone back and forth between question and answer,

_“So how do you feel today Megamind?”_

The former villain gave a light, awkward laugh before glancing at his fish and back,

“ _I feel… okay. Yeah, just ok.”_

_“Strange to be on the right side of the law, doesn’t it?”_

_“Yeah… Good, but a strange sort of good, I suppose.”_

_“What are your goals from now on?”_

_“To fight evil and… do everything Metro Man used to do.”_ The alien was beginning to look very uncomfortable at this point and shifted uneasily.

 _“All that jazz!”_ His former henchman-turned-sidekick chimed in excitedly.

 _“How is your relationship with Roxanne Ritchi going?”_ the newbie newsy asked flippantly, not gauging the alien’s discomfort. Megamind had to briefly dodge the mic being stabbed at him before answering.

_“Uh, well, I don’t see how that’s relevant--”_

_“Do you think she’ll take you seriously now that you’re supposed to be good?”_

The reporter watching this narrowed her eyes in annoyance, “Such a rookie thing – putting words into someone’s mouth? Ugh. Go back to Brown, honey.”

Then Minion leapt in front of the camera and frantically pointed in the sky behind the news cameras gasping, _“What in the world is THAT thing?!”_

Roxanne rolled her eyes and blew an annoyed puff of air as all cameras looked in that direction and focused on a random flying bird.

When they looked back all that could be seen of the duo were their receding backs as they made their getaway towards the side of a building, Spyder Bot following along happily.

“ _Reeaalllyyy_ subtle Megamind.” She sighed.

Just then, the door to the Mayor’s office opened and voices and men’s laughter could be heard within.

Standing up, Roxanne adjusted her grey skirt and placed on her professional smile. Walking up to the chortling portly man, she held her hand up, “Mayor Barnes—“

“Ah! Ah-ha! Miss Ritchi! What an honor!” he announced as he beckoned her within the room, “Forgive me for the wait.”

“It was no trouble at all.” She politely replied and stepped into the round office. What surprised her was that there were two gentlemen sitting opposite sides of each other in the office’s two new plush velvet couches. One she knew instantly with an embarrassed sinking feeling; _Bernard_.

The other man on the opposite couch rose to her in greeting. “Ah, you must be Roxanne Ritchi, I heard so much about you.” He offered his hand with a polite smile and when she gave it, he turned it, palm down and raised it to kiss the back on it. “An _honor_ to be in your presence today.”

“Uh, haha… Hi?” Roxanne flushed slightly and quickly pulled her hand back at the old fashioned greeting. A bit forward, but who was she to judge? “So… may I ask who you are?”

The mayor came up then, shorter than the two, and smiled brightly, “Jeremiah Delaney and an old colleague of mine who just came in from out of town.”

“But please, call me Delaney.” The new comer said charmingly. “Everyone does.”

Roxanne returned his smile with a polite one of her own; he was quite tall and handsome, square jawed and broad shouldered. Dirty-blonde hair, combed back, but still managed fall over his forehead to delicately touch his thick-rimmed glasses behind which sat two bright amber eyes.

Once the introductions were out of the way, Roxanne cleared her throat and inquired as to why she had to be present today.

“Yes, let’s get on with the big surprise hmm?” Mayor Barnes hummed happily as he hurriedly sat in his big executive chair that once held Megamind.

Delaney resumed his seat on the couch with his right ankle over his left knee and hummed to himself, his arm lining the top of it, fingers drumming to some beat. Roxanne took her own seat on the opposite end of the same couch as Bernard, eyeing him cautiously. The man took no notice of her and seemed bored out of his mind.

“Um, hi Bernard.”

He looked lazily in her direction and muttered something. He hadn’t seem to have forgotten the time he had lost while dehydrated it seemed.

Roxanne looked down self consciously and flitted through her notebook, trying to hide the sting. That night in the restaurant… here she was, just waiting for him to change into the blue hero any second now.

“Ahem, so, um… Is there a reason you asked me here, Mr. Mayor?”

Seeing how no one was going to make the first move, Delaney loudly clapped his hands. “Well Miss Ritchie, it’s like this. I came here from a major network on the east coast and we would be really interested in pursuing an exclusive interview with your new hero.”

She quirked a brow, “Erm, well seems to me that he saved the whole city, so he’s a little bit of everybody's hero...”

Bernard let out a huff, “Yes the city…. Woo.”

Leaning away from the curator she focused more on the blonde across the room. Her reporter senses on full blast she gave him a solid once over. He used barely any wax not hairspray, glasses foster grants (not prescription), suit was nice but last season, and he seemed entirely too fond of his loafers. All in all he seemed the type to be demanding results.

“So, you want to interview, Megamind – I get that, what does that have to do with me?”

Mayor Barnes quipped in with a, “Miss Ritchi, it seems to the police department that now that Megamind is the only one with any know how in the criminal field, his leaving his post as ‘City’s resident villain’ leaves quite a gap for new trouble makers.”

Delaney shifted to fully face the astute brunette. With a sling of his legs apart he laced his hands between his knees.

“To be frank with you, we have reports that the dregs of the surrounding areas are seeing a major increase in overall nefariousness. Why over the last day or so your city has had numerous misdemeanors filled about property damage, vandalism, and a minor case of public nudity.”

Crossing her arms over her chest she leaned back in her chair with a cynical expression, “That report was about a homeless man that had found a LSD stash house and was high out of his mind. That area is a well known for its drug use and that particular stash house was being used for a sting operation. That doesn’t mean crime is on the rise in Metro.”

“There are even reports that criminals from other parts of the states are starting to migrate here.” Delaney replied smoothly.

Roxanne only shrugged with a frown, “Yeah, well, bad guys are crazy – I mean, seriously, look at their life choices.”

 Bernard was to the point of falling asleep on his hand, as it was propped on the arm of the large couch. His slight snores filled in the empty air as the newsies battled it out through their eyes.

Noticing the tension the mayor cleared his throat.

“Uh, yes. That may be, but you have to concede that the threat of a new villain filling the old slot is bound to happen. Metro is a city without a villain after all…  Megamind _has_ sworn off of evil….right?”

Delaney gave her an expectant look, as if everything Megamind did was run by her first!

With a look towards both the mayor and then towards the new guy, she let out a derisive snort and answered out an even “Um, duh? Yes? Psh, of _course_ he has! I mean, come on, so there’s a small, _teeny_ , _tiny_ , itty-bitty, rise in the crime rate lately… big deal! What need do we have of a hero when there is no evil to fight, right?”

Another pause passed as Bernard regaled them with faint snores. That man was gonna get smacked if he didn’t shape up!

Leaning back in his chair Delaney once again crossed his legs in a casual pose.

“The mayor thinks it would be better for the city that Megamind is placed in a good light. The old Metro Man Museum is going to be rebuilt to feature the newest hero as its namesake.”

She blinked, the announcement coming rather suddenly and quelling the flames of annoyance budding up from her center.

“Rebuilt? Wait – what?”

“The plans to start construction begin next Tuesday,” Bernard sighed, eyes still closed, “It will feature a _similar_ design, but Megamind will be the main feature.” Drolly, his eyes opened, “I wonder how long it will take him to blow _this_ one up.”

Forgetting the urge to smack the nerd with couch cushion Roxanne looked at the mayor, unable to hide her mirth. This was… this was fantastic! What amazing validation! “Really Barnes?”

Before the Mayor could respond however Delaney cut in, “This is why we called you in here today – you’re the only person he’d allow close to him...”

Roxanne’s mind went ablaze with the possibilities for this… This… This event! “This will be _perfect_ for his heroic image!”

Delaney only smiled casually and nodded, “We really would appreciate it if you could get him to sit down with us for a formal interview. You understand that you can’t do it yourself, ethics and all, but I would be _more_ than willing to sit and break bread with this self-made man.”

In sheer excitement, the spunky reporter grabbed her notebook and started jotting down her number to give to Delaney. “I _totally_ understand, oh my god.” She handed him the slip of paper as she continued to gush,

 “I’m _really_ excited to be a part of this! Wayne and I weren’t _nearly_ as exciting as this new development – I mean, ‘Bad guy gone _Good_?’ You can’t miss! I guess I have to find him now… oh gosh, he might be anywhere. Where do I start?”

It wasn’t that she didn’t know exactly where to look… but her flushed excitement at the opportunity to seek out her rescuer and tell him the good news left her out of sorts… Of course seeing him again also left her with something akin to butterflies in her stomach… It had only been a week after all and the two have barely exchanged more than a few words to one another in passing, what with her coordinating his heroism and he imprisoning hooligans…

Bernard stood and opened the door out of the office, he hated joy. Heaving through both doors he drawled, “You can start with leaving….”

Gathering up her purse she moved to shake Barnes’s hand, “Thank you Mr. Mayor, its- I’m just so happy!”

Delaney stood with the other gentleman and extended his hand as well, “I look forward to this Ms. Ritchie, very much.”

Without hesitation she gave his hand a firm shake as well, putting any distrust she held for him in the back of the farthest reaches of her mind. Really, how bad could he be?

* * *

 

_Later that same day…_

Roxanne found herself in the Lair… alone… waiting for the boys to come home.

“So…” She confidently walked past the door with the ‘Exit’ sign.

 “Not going in that door.”

 “Bowg…” she heard the familiar sound behind her. Stopping, she turned and looked behind her shoulder to see nothing.

“Ok, I know you guys are here. Come out, no need to get fresh.”

 Instantly, bright red ocular lenses peeked out from various prepositions around her and she smiled, recalling how they all came to her rescue in the fight with Tighten; before they had been but tools in Megamind’s nefarious schemes, yet now that the tides had turned, she saw them as an army of puppies – the treasured pets that their masters saw them as.

 “Come here…” She cooed, curling her finger to one nearest. “Come on… I’m not gonna bite… _You_ , I know will…” The one she beckoned moved outward slightly, a copy of the others yet having a dark red serrated dorsal fin along its back. It eyed her finger and flexed its mighty beartrap of a jaw.

“Bowg...” Instantly, her expression changed and she raised the finger that she pulled it with to one of warning. “No. I am a lady and you shall treat me with the same amount of respect as you give Megamind.” Instantly they all looked at each other before bursting in what she assumed was a rancorous laughter.

 _“Bowg, bowg, bowg! Bowwwg, bowg, bowg!”_ Scoffing she put her hands on her hips indignantly, “Oh that’s not very nice! Ok, the same respect you give Minion!”

 They stopped and huddled in midair. Roxanne smiled sweetly. “That’s right.”

Just then she heard a commotion near the front of the lair and the brain bots all swarmed past her to greet their masters.

 “Honeys!” Megamind called out cheerfully, “I’m home!”

Snorting Roxanne strolled out confidently with her arms held out, “Welcome home!”

“GAH!” Megamind cried out and leaped behind Minion, taken completely by surprise.

“M-Miss Ritchi! What are you doing here?!”

Minion however rolled his eyes and waved to Roxanne, “Hello Miss Ritchi!”

“Hi guys…” She smiled a little awkwardly, “Sorry for the, um, breaking and entering… Again.”

She chuckled a little sheepishly from the last time she had been here. She was of course acting a little out of character… after the whole business with Hal, all parties had been busy either gallivanting around the city or, in her case, testify against the former camera man’s case… With a nervous chuckle Megamind tried his best to straighten up his appearance. 

"We might just have to take you down town, you vicious criminal!"

 She laughed, that was oddly reassuring, she had been afraid he wouldn’t be the same after Tighten… “I got a good lawyer. I can’t stay too much longer, do you have a few minutes?”

With a frown, Megamind exchanged a look with Minion who stepped behind her and gave him a shrug as if to say, _sorry, you’re on your own on this one._   “Er, yes…”

Feeling the mass of hovering puppies follow Minion into the common area of the lair she stepped towards Megamind as he led her towards the work zone underneath his Idea Cloud, the notes on their red strings wavering slightly in the slight draft. She perched herself up a barstool as he fussed about his work table; upon the table was what looked like your everyday ray gun.

“Oh is that new?”

Megamind looked from the device to her and back to the machine before clearing his throat. “Well… no… it’s actually The Omega Ray from the old days…”

“What’s it do?” she asked tentatively, already knowing the answer but also a little worried as to why he was fiddling around with it.

He cleared his throat and said in the most casual way he could, “It, well, you know, vaporizes it’s target, leaving not even dust particles remaining…”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh. Wow. OK. Are you going to use it now?”

The alien shook his head, nervous laughter bubbling out of him.

“No, _no_! I never got around to actually _finishing_ it! So now I’m trying to switch some of the polarities around to make my back up design; The Alpha Beam!”

“And that does…?”

“Surround the target in delicious melted marshmallow filling.”

Roxanne blinked at him in disbelief. “You watched Ghostbusters didn’t you?”

“Next step is the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man!”

His former kidnap victim snorted out a laugh and nodded assent. Seems he was as nervous as she was about being here. They never really talked after the battle, never really _cleared the air_ so to speak.

“So,” Roxanne stated a little awkwardly, “How are things?”

He twirled around and showed off his torn cape, and scuffed leather, twitchy mood instantly melting into that of profound irritation. "Just _fabulous_ , really; every jimmy coma lately feels that the police aren't good enough and they demand _me_ to take them in! Me!"

He huffed wearily with a hand splayed dramatically over his chest. “To think that these _children_ get to demand one such as _I_ to stop their antics. As if I don’t have anything _else_ I’d rather be doing..."

 She tilted her head in slight confusion, "I thought the crime rate bottomed out. After you 'switched sides' so to speak the Brotherhood left."

He flopped down on the bench next to her and grabbed a small jeweler's kit; opening the small side door of the Omega/Alpha gun, he began tinkering with it’s internal mechanisms. "Don't get me wrong, I love being out and doing… Met- I mean, Music Man’s job but its all just so petty."

She twitched her lip, "Petty?"

Megamind shrugged, feeling a little guilty about dumping his woes on her – after everything she went through. It was wrong and he was all about being right now, right?

 “Um… so… what brings you, er, to my humble abode?” He tried to tactfully steer her away from himself, though he didn’t know why he should even bother, being that she was a nosey reporter and has used her witchy ways to get whatever information she wanted out of him.

She cleared her throat, having never been the one to beat around the bush. “About Hal, Megamind—“

Ritchi watched him with some slight humor. Although he didn’t divert his attention away from his work, his eyes were wide and focused on his task, blue lips pulled into a straight line, shoulders taut and straight. Oh yeah, she had his full undivided attention even if he didn’t show it. “I just want you to know that I’m not mad at you.” She explained hurriedly.

His black brows furrowed slightly and looked up a little. “You’re not…? Is this a trick?” a quick narrow of his eyes in suspicion and Roxanne had to repress another snort.

“No to both.”

“Okay…” He relaxed minutely.

Roxanne smiled warmly at him, eyes sincere, “I’m sorry I haven’t come by sooner to thank you for what you did – saving me and all… well… you know… thank you… for being a hero… You were amazing.”

Megamind blinked up owlishly this time, gauging her honesty a slow impish smile forming, “You’re really not mad?” She nodded laughing when he whooped happily at the confirmation, “I really wanted to see you, Roxanne! I-I wanted to ask if everything was _ok_ but I was- I was too much of a _coward_ and Minion said –“

The reporter laughed and held up a hand, “No – it’s fine, trust me! It was probably best anyway… I think we both just needed some time to process the changes and, well, with Hal’s hearing and such--”

His smile dropped at the name and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “I can’t tell you how awful I feel about Tighten and – I wanted to check on you –“

“Megamind, please – it’s ok!” she affirmed, becoming aware that she had to be careful with certain topics until they can really talk things through. “In fact, I have some _exciting news_!”

The new hero watched her, taking in her bubbling excitement, that little bounce with each word for emphasis; it was adorable to behold.

“News? What is it?”

Unable to maintain, Roxanne practically squealed out her delight, “You’re going to have a museum dedicated to you!”

Whatever he had been expecting it was definitely not that! “A museum…?”

She nodded with a giggle, “Like Wayne’s! But it’ll be _yours_!”

A startled laugh escaped him as his eyes drifted off into the distance, “A museum for me…? A _museum_ for me! _Me_! Megamind! I’m getting a Museum! Ha! This is _incredible!_ ” without thinking, he leapt to his feet and grabbed her hands, pulling her with him as he pranced around with her in a circle, laughing happily. “This is amazing! Metro Man had to be a hero for _years_ before he got his!”

Roxanne laughed as well, (making a minor mental note about the subtle difference in timing of the two heroes), “And here’s the best part—“

Megamind stopped, electric green eyes blinking at her owlishly, “There’s more?!”

The brunette nodded, “You’re going to be interviewed as this city’s new hero—“

 The former villain’s expression turn gleeful and he yanked her into a full hug, “ _You’re_ going to interview me! Just like old times!”

But with that, Roxanne placed her hands on his spiky shoulder pads and gently pushed him off, smiling reassuringly at the sudden look of confusion on his long blue face.

“Actually, no… I won’t be the one doing it.”

“No?” He let go of her, suddenly aware that he invaded her personal bubble without so much as an invite – without his bidding, his mind began to reel that the possible intrusion was what was making her keep her distance at this moment. “But I thought—“

She shook her head and shrugged, “I can’t – for ethical reasons!” She reaffirmed hurriedly at the hurt on his face.

 “Er, what?”

 Roxanne then pulled her business suit straight and finger combed her hair with a clearing of her throat. “Well, you did save me from Tighten… people would automatically assume that my opinion of you would be a bias one… So another news man will be the one doing it.”

And just like that, Megamind’s good humor evaporated. “But… you used to interview Metro Man…”

“Well back then everyone thought we were dating… And well, no offense but I was never in any real danger with you…”

“Not for lack of trying…” he grumbled.

She shrugged and placed a hand on his upper arm for reassurance, “It’s only for this once… Then if you need any other reports about your spectacular exploits of your “daring do” I’ll be there to report it, ok?”

Megamind took in her words, analyzing each one syllable and noting no changes in her tone to indicate that maybe she wasn’t interested in him and flicked his eyes to meet hers.

“It’s only just this once…” Roxanne smiled softly. “I know you can do it.”

The defender let out a low aggravated sound. Ok. this was for Roxanne. He owed her for Hal and for all her pain and suffering that _he_ caused her… finally, with a groan, he dragged his hands down his face and nodded,

“Ok… ahem… I, _The Spectacular Megamind_ ,” with a wave of his arm, he gave his cape an extravagant flourish, “shall _allow_ myself to be interviewed by this _man_ , this—“ he looked at her expectantly.

 “Jeremiah Delaney.” She smirked amused.

“ _Jeremiah Delaney!_ But only on _one_ condition…”

“Oh?”

Suddenly, he gave her an almost pleading look, “You have to be there with me.”

She blinked in surprise. “Me?” He nodded, “I will only do it if you’re there.”

Roxanne folded her arms and chewed on her lip in thought, “I’m not sure if I can. I guess I can ask and see… since I’m not the one doing it, I don’t have much say in the matter.”

“Please? Ok, um, I got it, I’m _metaphorically kidnapping_ you! Yeah, that’s it!”

She snorted, “What?”

“I’ll hold you _hostage_ – I won’t do it unless they allow you to sit in with me.”

She tried her best to keep a straight face, but damn, when her blues met his greens she sighed a little at that puppy dog expression in them, “Ok,” she nodded to his extreme delight, “Ok, I’ll pull some strings, to see if I can maybe get a moderator’s chair or something… but no promises!”

With that Megamind let out a long relieved sigh. “ _Thank you_ Miss Ritchi!”

“Hmm,” she thought, “Social anxiety and you don’t mix.”

Snorting the former villain folded his arms in mock offense, “Social _anxiety?_ Ha! I laugh at thee! _Ha-ha-ha_! I just like having my favorite reporter with me. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”

Roxanne couldn’t help a crooked grin and raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m beginning to like Heromind.”

“Psh. If you really think I’m changing my _name_ , you have another thing coming Miss Ritchi.”

She giggled slightly before sobering. “I really was starting to miss this – this, you know, us, bantering back and forth.”

Megamind looked off to the side a little and shuffled his feet a bit, “Would it be too forward of me to hope we can continue it?”

Roxanne shook her brown head. “Not at all.”

The genius did his best to contain his excitement but only managed a stiff nod of understanding. “Excellent! I will see to it that you and I can find some time to do such!”

As proper and gentlemanly as he looked, he also somehow managed to puff himself up with pride, and Roxanne nodded at the display: He looked like a peacock. Unfortunately though, she couldn’t spend time savoring this as she had to rush off to the station to prepare for the interview.

 “Ok, so, I’ll tell Delaney that you’ve agreed to it and that you need me there.”

Still on Idea Cloud Nine, Megamind nodding dreamily. “I’ll make sure Minion clears a day for it!” (Since it had become so busy as of late, the hero had to unfortunately resort to his best friend’s scheduling.)

The “damsel” nodded again, taking in his look with amusement. This will work out. She just knew it will!

 “Great! I guess I’ll see you later then.”

Backing out giddily, Roxanne bumped into something hard and turned to see Spyder Bot looking down at her with multiple large red eyes,

“Bark.” It greeted with a wag of his Laser Tail.

 Squeaking, she backed away slightly, “Oh, hello Spyder Bot.”

“Awww, he likes you!” Megamind cooed, strolling over and patted the automaton. “Who’s a good boy?! You are such a good boy!”

From past experience, Roxanne only had brief encounters with the very large, very intimidating cyborg but not enough to chance a lost limb. The Brain Bots (well, some of them) were one thing, being tiny and catty, but this one was an entirely different story; where the small cyborgs were much akin to a herd of rabid tea-cup piranha poodle’s, Spyder Bot was very much like a Saint Bernard. Large and cuddly but with less drool and armed with much more than a barrel of brandy around his neck.

“I will take your word for it, now be a good boy and stay here Spyder…” Edging around the alien and his quote-unqoute “pet”, she returned his wave of fare thee well and made her way back to the hidden entrance of Evil Lair.

This was Megamind's first actual interview as Metro City's new defender and she hoped, no prayed to the powers that be that this will go off without a hitch.


	2. Thunderstruck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to rewrite about 90% of this chapter, hopefully the rest won't be as hard, heeeeh.
> 
> (Thank you Dal for the Chapter title suggestion!)
> 
> I also fixed the anon reviewing part so there ya go, Joan! :)

About two weeks later found Roxanne Ritchi dressed in a casual ensemble of jeans, a yellow polo shirt and a faded wrangler jean jacket. Her brows scrunched up as she read and reread the piece in her hands.

Minion stood patiently in front of her, a barely concealed look of reluctant acceptance as she continued to flip through pages of the self glamorizing introduction that Megamind had personally written up for himself.

“No… no…” she murmured to herself, running a hand through her brown hair, a dismissive pout appearing on her delicate square face which lacked the makeup necessary for live television as she was not going to be sitting in front of it.

Looking up, she gave the Piscean in the gorilla suit an expression of profound disbelief,

“Minion, sweetie, you don’t honestly expect Delaney to really introduce Megamind like this, _do_ you?”

She noted the similar, if aquatic, pained look on his face even as he begged.

"Oh, _please_ , Miss Ritchi- the boss has his heart set on this…"

The two stood near the back of the studio, the broadcasters stationed at the front, going about that day’s event; Rudy Phillips, the main head of the team taking part in clever banter with his red-haired, co-host Cynthia Dale.

But the reporter forced her eyes to reread the script, her expression sour. “And I respect that but, come on… is he serious?”

The former henchman let out a bubbly sigh as he bobbed in his version of a fishy shrug, “I know, I _know_. Believe it or not this is actually the humbler version of the lot - trust me, the first twelve drafts were a lot vainer.”

A random stagehand ran by calling "Thirty minutes till the Megamind slot!" and Roxanne was already on pins and needles.

Sure, it had only been a month since the alien _became_ the hero when he defeated Tighten, but Metropolitan's were still on the fence about him as such. How do you make up for over two decades of criminal mischief, a life of nefarious intent and dastardly deeds?

And since Metro Man's qoute-unqoute “retirement” and Megamind's sudden new role, the crime rate has been through the _roof_! What had started out as petty muggings and cats in trees, gradually escalated into bank heists, stealing priceless artwork from the local art galleries, and the recent surge of public nudity…

And most unfortunately, such a wave has kept the two too busy for any kind of, well, _important_ talks.

Bad Guy causes disruption.

Megamind saves the day.

Roxanne reports it.

Day in and day out.

 _Funny,_ she thought with some amusement. _I almost wish Wayne was still around. Then Megamind and I could at least see each other without having to worry about schedule conflicts._

Thankfully the reporter wasn't alone in such a, small yet, none-the-less, daunting task! Minion, through his clever means, had managed to coordinate around Megamind’s hero work in order to set it up... much to Roxanne's glee.

"Thanks again, for finagling all of this Minion, I could not have done it without ya!" She smiled distantly.

The other smiled to himself a little in genuine pride. " _Please,_ Miss Ritchi - it's what I do _best_." to show that it was such an easy feat on his part, a robotic hand dusted off some imaginary specks off his opposite shoulder which made the woman snort in mild amusement before refocusing on the script in hand.

"I just wish I could have talked to him about this first... to, I don't know... get him to read the one _I_ written instead... I had it all perfect for him too!"

Minion gave another shrug, this time, with his suit's shoulders. "Yeah, I know, I tried. But the timing was never right- escape convict here... a puppy thief there... it's been a little... _hectic_ lately..."

She sighed in irritation; the constant reminders of lost chances were getting to her. _Focus Roxanne, after this Megamind will have more free time!_

Nodding to herself, she paged through the thirty pages of Megamind praise back to the beginning, "Ok, look - tell me how this would sound if you were an audience member:

 _Interviewer_ : _And now, it is with my great pleasure to announce this devilishly handsome and (strangely arousing), Metro City's new irresistible defender- Megamind!_

_(Everyone cheers and wish that they were as awesome as Megamind)_

_Me: It's great to be here. (Winks to crowd)_

_Interviewer: No Megamind, it's an honor- no, a_ privilege _to have you here. I have a lot of questions to ask you but I cannot seem to get over your ruggedly good looks._

_Me: Not many do. It's my gift and my curse. But please, let us get back to just how awe-inspiring I really am._

_Interviewer: Oh my! Such awe! Much inspired! Wow! If only everyone were as smart and as brilliant as you are! You are simply light itself! I know we should get to our interview but I cannot seem to focus because of your precious gaze, do you mind if I put on sunglasses? Your smile, it’s blinding._

_Me: Be my guest, I believe Minion brought some spares. You know I’ve always been approached to do toothpaste commercials but I always seem to crack the lenses...—_ you see where I'm going with this, right?" Roxanne asked again, shoving the script back into Minion's hand, who eyed it carefully.

“‘ _...We, the entire city are totally indebted to you, Megamind. All hail our recently evil overlor--’_ ' I suppose I can see where you are coming from, but come on, you know how Boss gets when he sets his mind to something..."

She rolled her eyes and once again yanked the script out from Minion's hand, "Fine, I guess _I'll_ go tell him so!" She took off across the studio’s floor, careful not to trip over any wiring nor bump into any of her other colleagues.

Chewing on the inside of her lip, the reporter rated herself; _Oh stop snapping at Minion, he’s just doing his job!_

He on the other hand seemed to be taking it rather well and kept in step next to her as they made their hushed way towards other side.

“I’m sorry, Minion, I’m not normally this prickly...”

“Oh, it’s alright!” He replied cheerfully, “Things are a little tense right now, I get it.” then… with a small sigh he looked away and seemed to consider his words. Looking back he pressed, “But I did write the toothpaste part, tell me you at least liked that...”

“The toothpaste part was adorable, Minion. I will now only think of you when I brush my teeth.”

“Aww, Boss says the same thing; that’s so sweet of you guys.”

“How is he, by the way? I saw the report from the other day. A Lair sale? Really?”

Minion rolled his eyes in memory. “Ugh, don’t remind me. After the Mega-Megamind, we spent the whole day tracking all the costumers down and refunding their money.”

The reporter giggled. “I’m still surprised you allowed it.”

Her friend waved the air in front of him moodily, “Sir has a habit of diving in head first into _everything_ and once he gets his mind wrapped around an idea, it takes an explosive backfire to shake him back to reality. That way I can always say, ‘I told you so.’ without much argument.”

Roxanne snorted and eyed him with a smirk, “Wow, Min’ I didn’t think you were full of that much snark.”

“Not at all. I just simply enjoy reminding Sir that while he _may_ be a super genius, that doesn’t make him _always_ right.”

She laughed again.

Finally they arrived outside the dressing room door labeled GUEST APPEARANCES in which the reporter halted and took a moment to adjust her appearance; fluffing hair, pulling coat straight… She didn’t understand why she was putting this off for as long as she was...

“How do I look?”

Minion gave her the mechanized thumbs up with a smile. “As if you’re about to rip out his heart and crush it between your dainty hands.”

Her frown deepened and she gave him a flat look. “Thanks Minion. Really. Wasn’t like I was hoping for any positive reinforcement after breaking the news to him...”

Across from her, Minion let out a deep chortle, “Oh-hooo, don’t worry Miss Ritchi! Sir’s used to soul crushing disappointment! I bet he’ll be upset for oh… say… five… thirty minutes. Just remind him he’ll be on tv in a good light for once.”

Roxanne huffed waving him off. “He’s _blue_ ; it’s _hard_ to get him in a good light. He’ll be nothing but a blur… See you in a second.”

Placing her hand on the cold metal handle, she cleared her throat before raising the other to softly rap against the door.

"No more adoring fans, _please_! Tell them they need to _chill!_ " replied a weary voice through the door, “I’m _done_ signing autographs for the day!”

"Megamind? It's me, open up."

There was a clamor from within followed by a panicked reply, " _ACK_! Just- just a second!" More quiet chaos.

"Ahem- _come in_ …" his voice purred out a moment later and Roxanne opened the door.

His dressing room was very much like her own except instead normal business casual suits it sported his own range of costumes with matching high necked collars, capes and wide variety of spikes.  Even now, she noticed he wore his normal black and blue speed suit, only collarless; she did not fail to notice how nice he looked in this fashion.

And in lieu of the station’s makeup artists, his very own Make-Up Bots were tidying up his appearance before his breakout performance, a bot with a power buffer was busily buffing his cranium into a polished shine.

 He sat in his chair with his back to her and she could see the two of them reflected within his lighted mirror. He was grinning excitedly and preening his eyebrows. She had to repress a chuckle at his expression of pure excitement.

 _“Miss Ritchi… welcome_ -" Megamind finally spoke in his formerly evil voice while slowly turning in his chair to face her, she put her hand on her hip and watched him play out his little drama. "— _to my dressing room!_ " and laughed at his grandiose display of theatrics, the bots all waving their various robotic arms in glory.

"Hi." She said.

"Hi." He replied after a moment of taking in her casual attire. “Is that what you’re wearing in the interview? Not that I mind!” he explained hurriedly when she frowned. “I was just curious!”

 She cleared her throat nervously and he began to fidget under her silence. She needed his absolute attention. _Something’s up._

"Hey, guys, can you excuse us for a moment?" She tried to shoo the makeup team out of the room but they looked at their master for confirmation.

With a wave of his hand, he told them, “Off with you now, Daddy has work to do.”

“Bowg!” they obeyed and flew out past the reporter into the station main.

Finally it was just the two of them, former professional kidnapper and his former reluctant victim...

"Is there something wrong, Miss Ritchi?" the alien asked, as cool as a blue cucumber; the only thing that hinted at his anxiety was the foot that he draped over his knee that twitched nervously to a beat.

Catching the subtle hint, Roxanne looked from him to the script and huffed a little in amusement; really, was there any reason to make this awkward and uncomfortable for the two of them? Glancing back up, she waved of the script in the air with a smirk.

 _Oh._ He thought with some relief and relaxed minutely, _Just that. Good._

Never being one to beat around the bush, she decided to cut to the chase, "Two things: One, they are not going to read your introduction.”

He waved a blue hand at this, "Oh, why not? Is my _incredible_ composition too much for their puny minds? Can they not _stand_ the incredibleness that is _I_?"

Roxanne gave a tiny snort at his boisterousness. “No, they think it’s a little much. Two, uh... I can’t exactly… sit _in_ with you on this one.” This time she spoke it with a delicate frown but from the look on Megamind’s face, she might as well sucker punched him.

Like air being let out a balloon, Megamind deflated.

“Wha-what?” His mind went blank - he could barely formulate a response!

She nodded with a shrug, “I tried talking them into it, but on ethical grounds I _can’t_ be a part of this one interview. I’m... I'm really sorry, Megamind.”

The genius slumped in his seat but looked up with a, Minion guessed it, look of pure soul crushing disappointment.

“I don’t understand… You’re _supposed_ to be a _part_ of this! You’re the original _cast member_ for crying out loud! I’ve been kidnapping you since I started down the wayward path… What if I told them I won’t do it without you?” Green eyes wide with worry, she could practically see the gears in his head trying to formulate the perfect plan for it.

Walking past him, she chuckled as she sat on the edge of the makeup counter.

“Come on, Megamind, you’re going to be just fine without me up there.”

But the alien folded his arms and looked away with a huff, “Says you!”

And yet she was having none of it. “Megamind, this is your chance to really shine - to prove to the world out there how good of a person you really are. You can’t squander that just because I have to sit this _one_ out.”

“But this is really important to me and I need you there.” he whined.

“You’re going to be _fine_ , genius” She laughed, feeling a blush forming.

“What if I talk to them? Make them see sense?”

The woman shook her head, “Nope, don’t waste your time. Bennett’s pretty hard headed and I don’t really know Delaney well enough to ask any favors.”

Ahh, then came the whine.

“But _wwwwhhhyyyyy?_ ”

Roxanne groaned while rubbing her eyes. _Minion’s right. When he gets his mind around something…_

"Megamind, listen, you’re the big _formerly bad_ superhero - you don’t need me hanging around to make you look good.”

"Mm." Was his reply as he examined his nails; he didn't seem to be paying much attention and that made the journalist huff slightly. Genius of not, he had a nasty habit of behaving like a petulant child! “It’s not that you make me _look_ good, it’s that you’re very _complimentary_ for me.”

That made her tilt her head with a raised eyebrow. “And that means…?”

“It _means_ that you look very nice when you’re with me as do I. We complement one another. I mean really, Blue and…" waving a hand at her physical body, his brow frowned in thought, "... _offish_ white? Dare I say a _rosy_ complexion?” He trailed giving her a wink when she averted her eyes, “It’s just a hunky dory pairing. Didn’t you see the stills after _we_ defeated Tighten? We looked wonderful together. _Almost like we were a team!_ ”

“Hah, ok, smart guy, whatever you say…” Absently she plucked the hem of her jacket. As much fun as they’ve had over the years she was reluctant to being so open with compliments that weren’t veiled with sarcasm and petty barbs, albeit thinly. Instead, she focused on her tapping her hip with her fingertips, narrowing blue eyes at him. A change of subject was needed here,

"Jeremiah Delaney is a serious reporter; I’ve seen his work - the guy will tear you a new one if you’re not prepared and make you into a laughing stock in front of the entire city… Do you want that?”

He sighed, a little put off. He honestly felt like a child again, being reprimanded by the almighty Warden. “Oh psh - It’s not like I’m not _used_ to be being laughed at.”

Roxanne shook her head; the genius still did not look convinced and she sighed. “This isn’t like before. The You _right now_ isn’t the You from _back then_ … This is your moment to really _show_ them the kind of sterner stuff that you are made of.”

He looked away, again, like a pouting child being told off.

And she sighed, feeling bad for it... hell, under _normal_ circumstances, she would not be this tense but she knew show business and she also knew _exactly_ how Megamind functioned on a day to day basis; in the wrong light, stardom can be a cruel mistress indeed.

And more than anything she wanted this one obstacle to pass smoothly so they can get on with their lives… So maybe they can see where they stand together… As a team... or maybe something more?

But first all they needed was to get over this one minor hump.

Although she had high hopes for him and believed in his success as a hero, Megamind himself _needed_ to understand the ramifications of his past transgressions and how they affect the audience who will be watching his every move in the next few minutes.

“He's going to ask you questions that _may_ affect how audiences look at you, depending on how you answer them, that is. Which is why…” A little sheepishly, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a folded up square of paper and unfolded it, “I have here a list of question prompts I want to run by you…”

Megamind’s groan was followed by an annoyed eyeroll. “No… I tried… but they’re so lame…”

“I know, I know, but what can ya do? Ready? We only have ten minutes so pay attention.” ignoring the slight disappointment at having her own written script disregarded so, Roxanne cleared her throat and started with the basic “How are you” questions which quickly flowed into their normal back and forth talk show banter. Eventually they evolved into easy “what do you plan to do now that you’re the hero?” questions which she nodded happily to  his upbeat and energetic replies and even engages him in some light flirting.

“Alright, I guess you’re as ready as you can be.” The reporter finally finished with a sigh of relief. “Just get through this one little task and you’re free as a blue bird!”

Megamind rose and adjusted his costume so the large blue lightning bolt returned to the center of his torso. He fiddled with the holster attached to his hip, his ever trusty Dehydration Gun housed within it,

"Remind me again why must we even go through with this whole _affair_? You said it yourself that you judge people based solely on their actions. Well, if I'm doing hero work, then I am the good guy, no? You said it yourself, ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover but by the contents within.’"

She frowned slightly, "Not everyone follows that belief. You've only became a hero recently and people hold grudges, Megamind. Sometimes it helps to just announce to the world that you've seen the error or your ways and that you’re on the straight and narrow. It's important that you try to convince the die-hard Metro Man fans that you are no longer a threat to society."

He laughed his former evil laugh at this, "Ohhhh, but _you_ know I’m not! _You know_ I am no longer that big headed blue _villain_ that used to terrorize the city."

She watched, amused, as he stood in his old monologue pose. Yes. She did know.

"Gone are the days of coming up with _wickedly brilliant_ ideas; kidnapping you, attempting to destroy Metro Man and taking over the city, etcetera, etcetera... No, I know what the people may think of me; I've been a villain for so _long_. But I am a changed man and the city should see that."

He smiled at her when he said that, she couldn't help but notice that he did look rather dashing. "But I don't believe that I should have to prove this on television... in a _stud-io_..."

"'Studio'."

"Right- I should be out on the streets, fighting crime, " He punched and kicked the air," and-and," quickly shooting her a hopeful look, "...getting the girl- in the most heroic way, of course."

She laughed outright at his final comment, making him scowl. "Megamind, all you need to do is answer 'yes' to being good or 'no' to being evil, ok? Don't say anything that could incriminate you. We're trying to get everybody on your side."

"Humph." He folded his arms and looked away. "I just don’t see the point."

“Megamind…” Roxanne giggled to herself before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Do this for me? Please?”

At first, the alienwas surprised by the intrusion to personal space only the second time since Tighten’s defeat that she willingly initiated it; he both hoped for and dreaded more moments like these as he tentatively returned her hug with a small, dreamy sigh.

Ok, so maybe he was being childish. Old habits die hard after all…

How could he even hope to imagine that he would be here, with the girl of his dreams in his arms of _all_ places! Who cares about Metro Man - _Roxanne Ritchi_ believed in him!

She would come to find out that this action was the absolute worst possible thing she could do at a time like this, for Megamind's arms tightened around her and he let out a very dreamy hum of dazed happiness.

 “Of course... For you, Roxanne... I’ll move the heavens.”

She hummed a little, little bubbles of glee making her heart go a’pitter and a’patter.

"Listen… Wayne saw something in you and - and I see it too… you’re going to do wonderfully out there… And think about it - you'll be getting you're _own_ museum!”

His eyes became as wide as saucers and he looked at their reflections in his room's mirror. "Yes... that is definitely a plus."

Slowly, she let go of him and took his hands in hers, blue eyes shining bright, “Everyone is going to see what we see today and everything is going to be perfect from now on ok?”

The alien genius nodded, unable to form words.

“And… and we never really got to work out… uh… anything between us since _that_ night… how about we get some dinner at _ICE bLue_ tonight? You can make up for that time when you were Bernard, ok?" She added, smoothing a pale hand over his shoulder a little modestly, without his high-necked collar and spikes he looked curiously tiny and adorable.

  _ICE bLue_ was a rather pricey and luxurious restaurant at the top of Global Tower in downtown Metro City. It also had a rooftop bar and pool that functioned as a nightclub hot spot; a rather ritzy place, but perfect for a make-up date and she could use a good spoiling.

“It might be a good place for a second chance…” she added in a modest whisper.

Hearing her offer, Megamind let out a much warbled breath and his large blue head bobbled in a nod. “Ye-yes! That - oh _Roxanne_! You have _no idea_ what that means to me! None at all!”

She laughed at his expression, "Shall we say eight o'clock?"

“Eight is perfect!” he wanted to touch her, to hold her hand or something but he didn’t want to ruin it by being the one invading her space; instead he settled for an excited jazz hand routine. “I promise I’ll make everything up to you! You won’t regret this!”

Watching him try to contain his excitement, she laughed again, "Good, I really hate regrets. Ok, it’s almost time for you to start - don’t worry, Minion and I will be right there rooting for you."

The reporter walked towards the door but stopped before exiting, "Just relax and remember what we rehearsed"

“I’ll make you proud!” he faced the mirror excitedly and began to practice.

She closed the door with a laugh.

"Fifteen minutes till air!"

 

* * *

 

 

In front of the station’s coffee and snack table, Roxanne paced nervously as the crew began setting up for the hero’s time slot.

 _There’s nothing to worry about!_ She told herself for the umpteenth time. _Everything is going to be fine. Megamind’s going to do fine and everyone will see the kind of sweet, charismatic guy I see…_

"So, is our defender ready for this, Miss Ritchi?" Delaney asked from his seat, organizing his cue cards and smoothing out his blonde hair.

"As ready as he'll ever be." She answered curtly glancing to the empty chair next to Delaney’s on the stage set. The light crew were just finishing the final touch ups, and there was Minion behind the cameras appearing to be chastising with the brain bots over putting fish in the coffee percolators and off into the distance, Megamind pacing back and forth, pantomiming his grand entrance.

"I hope so anyway..." She added more to herself.

"Well, here's to hoping." Delaney remarked as he polished his glasses amber eyes watching her through his lashes,

 "From what I can gather, the city is still a bit torn up from Metro Man's death; does Megamind _really_ think he could easily replace him; correct me if I'm wrong, but you were there when he destroyed your previous hero? With… What was it? Death Ray orbiting the Earth’s atmosphere?"

"Five minutes people!"

Roxanne pursed her lips at this and kinda-sorta lied, "Mmm, yup, I was there. I saw Metro Man's skeleton and everything. So sad. We, uh, the citizens of Metro, all took time to mourn Wayne’s passing together."

Only she and Megamind (and by extension, Minion) knew the truth; that Metro Man faked his own death in order to retire.

"Hah, _right_. So, how do we know that all of this isn't a clever _ruse_ to convince the rest of us Earthlings’ of his good intentions in order to stab us in the backs?"

Roxanne glared at him, not liking his tone one bit. "I don't know, Delaney, why don't _you_ ask _him_ when he gets here!"

With a swift turn of her heel Roxanne walked away from him and grumbled her way back to Minion who waited with cup of coffee in hand.

“Lousy, square jawed, accomplished imbecile!” She seethed, accepting it from him.

“By your rant, this isn’t directed at sir…” Minion observed, shying away from the heated journalist. (Above him, the cyborg pets were chasing the one who had an unplugged microphone locked tightly in its metal maw.)  “His jaw is clearly an Isosceles.”

“At first I thought, ‘Hey, he’s not too bad, he wants to build a Megamind Museum! Sweet! Awesome!’ but no! I don’t know what it is, Minion!” she began gesturing with her hands as she shot scathing glares at the man as he strolled towards his chair. “He has this way of - of saying one thing and then turning it around and saying another… Like I want to like him but at the same time I want to hit him with the buffet table.”

Listening to her rant, the fish watched as two brain bots played tug-o-war with the mic above them,

“Well, I wouldn’t get too upset about it. Mr. Delaney’s not _that_ bad… Personally I think he plays the devil’s advocate to make Boss seem more heroic.”

“It doesn’t work like that Minion.”

He looked down, scaly brows raised, “It’s working on you right? If he picks on Sir then you’ll stand up for him - when other folks see that _you_ can vouch for him, then they will be more inclined to join his fan club based upon the fact that you’re very trustworthy… It’s a pretty good strategy I think.”

With a huff, the reporter sipped her coffee and furrowed her scowled, “Humph. Maybe… I don’t know though… the next thing y’know he’ll be asking about Wayne and I, and how we were a thing!”

“Well when it comes to that, tell him the truth; the two of you were just friends. Trust me, let Sir handle this. Deep breaths Miss Ritchi.”

Running a hand through her brown hair, Roxanne did has he instructed and tried to calm down.

“You’re probably right. It’s been a weird couple months… He’s probably just trying to make me upset so Megamind can stride forth on a stallion and save the day once again… Kinda sweet I guess.”

“There, ya see? I bet that’s it _exactly!_ ” Minion smiled as he fiddled with his communicator, “Hey, Boss? It’s time for you to come out now; Delaney is almost done with his opener.”

A giant green eye appeared in the tiny circular screen, _“Thank you Minion, soon I shall bless this audience with my divine appearance.”_

With a grin, the fish winked at the woman and opened a compartment in his suit’s torso. “Here, this will help.” Out he pulled two handmade posters and handed her one.

Unfolding hers, Roxanne let out a laugh at the sight; Oh yeah, Minion was right.

Everything would be just fine.

The man introduced himself towards the camera, made some charming statement about how magnificent the city is and how delightful its’ citizens were...

“And now, our very special guest of the hour, _Megamind!_ ” Delaney stood and began applauding.

With a flourish, Megamind burst onto the scene ready to air guitar to the opening of an _AC/DC_ song until his ears caught up with his hands. The music that played wasn't the hard rock the boys were used to but a light, classical instrumental.

All live cameras trained, he froze in mid-air strum, glancing at Minion who shook his head with a confused shrug. Embarrassment resonated off of him in great waves.

Green eyes flicking next to his friend, he glimpsed Roxanne who raised her poster higher for him to see;

 _‘Megamind!’_ it read in blue glitter, _‘You're the man with a plan!’_

Next to her, his best friend waved his, _‘You are the wind beneath our wings, Sir!’_

The hero blinked owlishly for a moment as affection unspeakable overwhelmed him from the show of support. _You guys are the best!_

Pride swelled in his chest, of which he puffed out, dropping his hands into dynamic fists of glory and sauntered his way up to his guest chair.

With a slight blush of exuberance he shook hands with the interviewer, a broad smile stretching across his face; he can do this. Roxanne believes in him. He dropped spun impressively into his chair, crossing one blue leg over the other and appearing to the entire world as cool as a blue cucumber.

Behind the cameras, Roxanne murmured out the corner of her mouth, “Ok, just a slight hiccup, nothing to worry about…”

“Welcome Megamind, can I call you Megamind? I’m new to this city after all.” Delaney asked casually taking his seat. “Forgive me if I seem a little forward in my direction - I make it a point to study my projects _intimately_.”

Deflating just a tad the alien quickly shifted a little in his chair in an effort to hide it, instead sticking to neutral territory. “Of course, Mister Delaney, that’s what everyone does here and I want you to feel entirely comfortable in _my_ city. After all it's the only name I’ve ever gone by publicly.”

“So it’s _not_ the one registered on your prison file?”

“Ooooh dear.” Minion’s smile dropped slightly.

“What?” Roxanne whispered back. As a reporter, she had of course investigated Megamind as thoroughly as she could over the years, yet, because of privacy laws, she could never obtained his _personal_ prison record - above all else, the Warden, the man who raised him his entire life kept _that_ particular file under lock and key. When Minion didn’t answer, she resolved to ask the alien that evening over dinner.

Balking a bit the genius settled his hands on the arms of his chair in an overly casual manner. “Can’t say really… Private policy - you know the drill...”

“Well what's in a name right?” Delaney gave a small disarming chuckle.

“Heh, _right_.” Megamind grinned back with a wave of his hand. His gloved fingers drummed a little on his armrest as he focused on keep his breath straight and even. So it’s off to an awkward start but after a few witty back and forth banter things should iron out… he hoped.

Flicking his eyes around looking for Minion, his discomfort growing. He did his absolute best not to look at Roxanne, wishing more than anything to have her up here with him, by his side. _Everything is fine, we are all good here!_

But tried as he might, he couldn’t stop his greens from seeking out her clear blues beyond the haze of light. She smiled when he found her slightly hidden behind the camera people almost right next to him. He was just starting to relax when Delaney spoke again.

“So, Megamind! Hero of the day! Wow! Well, what shall we talk about?” Delaney leaned back in his chair. Megamind refocused on his ‘interviewer’, but in all honestly this was beginning to feel more like an interrogation.

“Well, judging by the _prompts_ you provided, I’d say we get to those. Or, we could, I don't know, discuss the building of my _museum_ , because, haha, I'm _really_ interested in the details of _those_ plans!” _Hint, hint._

 "Oh, don't worry, we'll get to that in due time." The blond gave a chuckle at that and nodded politely, “I admit, I’ve only been in town for a couple of weeks but I have been ear deep in your _story!_ Extraterrestrial orphan boy crash landing in a _prison_? You don’t get many origin stories like that these days! And while growing up you took on a life of crime - how _thrilling_!”

Megamind snorted at the dismissal of his future museum and inwardly groaned as his childhood was brought up. It wasn’t that he particularly minded talking of his shoolhouse days, but he wanted to focus on the him of now and his future in providing the city the protection it so desperately needs.

“Well, um, you see -” With a deep breath, the alien gave a casual wave and fell into the answer he had rehearsed earlier, “- I was bad, but - due to recent - er- unforeseen _changes_ , I have _finally_ seen the light and now I only want to do _good_! In fact, I believe the _city_ would be _deeply_ interested in my new role.”

“Speaking of which.” The reporter smiled charmingly once more and pulled out a small stack of note cards from his black slacks pocket.  “I have a lovely stack of cards here that have many questions, yet to be answered.”

_Yes! Finally!_

Megamind has to stifle a nearly exasperated sigh and instead coolly regarded the pile and met his opponent's eyes, unchallenged. He’s got this. _Wonderful_ Roxanne in her _wonderful_ grace, spent her _wonderful_ time drilling him _wonderfully_ before. He sat poised and confident, his thoughts transporting him into the future. _Oh tonight,_ he hummed happily, _I am not going to ruin this! Not again!_

“Yes, _on_ with the show as they say.”

His companions both let out a collective sigh of relief from their places behind the scenes.

Yet after gauging the confidence shown to him, Delaney smiled again as he casually tossed the cards off the set and whipped out his phone. Seeing this gesture Megamind’s suave demeanor fell off completely as he envisioned his well practiced speeches being cast out onto the floor as well. 

 _Noooooooooooooo!_ Suddenly, his imaginings with the girl of his dreams seemed to fall as well. _No! No! No! Ok! Stay calm! I can still do this! Just think! Think! Think! Think! You can do this Megamind! THE POWER OF SCIENCE COMPELS YOU!_

“I hope you don’t mind a little change of _pace_ , Megamind.” the man drawled on across from him, “I for one work better at improv and judging from your past, I’d love to see you under action.”

From his place next to the reporter, Minion hissed, “Can he _do_ that?”

She stomped angrily. “No he most certainly cann _ot_! This is why we have to stage the questions before interviews! Oh this is - _urgh!_ ”

From his chair in front of the cameras, the blue defender blinked his green eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, “Uh, well, this is a little unexpected but ok, s-sure.”

“Do you have a _Prattlr_ account, Megamind?”

He rested his elbow on his armrest and tried to rest his chin on his upturned palm but missed it slightly. “Uh, well, no, I’m afraid not. When the entire city _hates_ you it gets a little tiring having to read about it day in and day out.”

Delaney scowled before dropping it and turned towards the camera with that smooth charm, "Well, as I’m sure you know, there is something of a, oh how should I put this… debate? Yes, there is a rather heated discussion concerning your acts of recent heroism compared with your past reign of misfortune… Care to comment?"

Minion and Roxanne exchanged worried looks.

“Well, um.” He frowned before leaning forward. Gesturing with his hands the genius began to explain.

“I was a messed up kid. Looking back, I see that now. I was self centered and _rude_ and just plain _rotten_. I see that now and it took something crazy and unthinkable to make me see the error of my ways…”

Delaney smiled coldly at the blue alien, “Like Tighten.”

Minion and Roxanne, both standing by the camera glanced at one another before looking back at the blue defender.

“ _Yes_. Like Tighten.”

Delaney leaned back in his chair and slung his ankle over his opposite knee, lacing his fingers on his torso.

“I read all about that. Harold “Hal” Stewart was a naughty little pet wasn’t he? I wonder how he finds your old prison cell.”

Folding his arms over his chest the hero narrowed his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was flat and emotionless, “With any luck, he would find it as _uncomfortable_ and _insufferable_ as I had.”

“I believe the temperature in the room just dropped.”

“I don’t tolerate carelessness towards life, Mister Delaney. I may have been wicked and devious in my past mannerisms but I never ran around and dealt as much damaged as he did… I never overstepped my boundaries when it came to… the citizens…”

“And Roxanne Ritchi?”

“Especially her.”

“Why don’t you tell us about the two of you?”

The genius began to thoughtfully chew the inside of his cheek. He had the oddest feeling that this man was trying to get him to slip up somehow. “Well, uh, Miss Ritchi and I have a very professional relationship and I don’t believe she would really approve of being spoken of outside her presence… But I think we’re getting off topic.”

Glancing at Roxanne, she gave him a smile and thumbs up in gratitude; he gave a small hand flick as a wave back.

The man nodded with another smile and scrolled through his phone. “Extron3842 asks: _How do you feel about destroying Metro Man?_ ”

Megamind’s eyes flicked from him to a spot on his chair, which he began to pick out distractedly. He did not like how this was being played out. He especially did not like that Roxanne was brought up like this. “I feel just awful about that. I really do. But you know, in a way, I feel it’s a little bit of a blessing…”

“How so?”

“I firmly believe that Wayne Scott would have _wanted_ me to be the new good for this city.” He smirked to himself as he said it, knowing that both Roxanne and Minion were thinking the same thing as he was; that Wayne believed in him from the very beginning. He needed to send that guy a fruit basket or something in gratitude.

“He wanted his murderer to take his place.” the man’s tone was dry in disbelief. "How logical."

His opposite nodded his enormous blue cranium. “Despite our very destructive public appearances we were something akin to ‘friends’ on more than one occasion.”

“ _That is so wonderful to hear!”_ Delaney practically sang as he looked into the camera facing him.  “I’m sure more than half of Metro would be so positively elated to hear such wonderful news! Puppyluvr has a question concerning you and Miss Ritchi, what’s your stance with her?”

“Well, that’s um, that’s a little hard to answer… But I’ll certainly give it a try.” A purplish flush rose to his cheeks at the prompt and his green eyes glanced to the side to see her hiding her face behind the poster, her blues just peeking over the top. Her eyebrows were raised and she made a little head movement that seemed to symbolize a little shrug.

He let out an amused little laugh and readjusted in his seat.

“My stance with Roxanne is well… hm… The thing is, I have always known where I stood with her - as much as I annoyed her and irritated her and deserved every punch to the face; she had never treated me with any form of disrespect. She treated me like a person and made sure to call me out whenever I would get a little out of hand… and for that I have a deep and profound respect for her.”

He glanced at her to see that she had lowered the poster and even seemed to be fighting a little smile from forming. Next to her, a grinning Minion gave her an elbow nudge which she returned. Smiling broadly at the display the hero relaxed noticeably and wagged his foot to some musical beat.

“Growing up, Warden used to tell me to treat others the way you would want to be treated - back then I… I tried and then I had given up… but now that I’m older and wiser… I want to prove to everyone that I _am_ a good and honest man… If only they would give me a chance to show them.”

Delaney smiled as well, amber eyes meeting his in resolution. “How sweet. We’ll hold off of Roxanne for a moment... Blinkr_mate38 wants to know: _what's it like being the new defender of Metro City?_ "

The defender in question raised his eyebrows a little at the change of topic wondering perhaps if by showing that he can treat one person with the respect and kindness they deserve then there was the opportunity to treat others that way… to perhaps _earn_ this man’s respect and therefore the respect of the citizens.

He swallowed as optimism began to shine through again.

 _This is it… This is where I’ll make my mark!_ Sighing blissfully, his mind dived back to his fantasy date with Roxanne; there they were, at their table with a classical orchestra playing _Welcome to The Jungle_ as the adoring public surrounded them. Minion approached with a bucket full of ice, a bottle of _Dom Perignon_ chilling.

 "Oh, how can I describe it? That is like asking whether a predator would rather eat a man or a baby... The beast would be fulfilled with either one... yes, I guess I could say that it’s _fulfilling_." he grinned at his choice in words, completely loss in his world as the Roxanne of his dream raised her glass of champagne to him in congratulations.

A hush fell upon the department as Delaney stared at him.

Minion's eyes darted from the Sir to Miss Jaw Dropped Ritchi and back to Sir. _Ooooh dear..._

 _"'Fulfilling'?_ " Delaney nearly choked out.

“Oh my god…” Roxanne bemoaned to herself.

"Alright then, Megamind; Yusuke_28 has a Prattle:  _just how long were you a villain before taking up the chore of protecting the city?_ "

Megamind leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his giant blue head. Roxanne sitting across from him surrounded by the most beautiful flowers in the world. Oh phooey what Minion says! He really should get back into floral genetic manipulation! His Roxanne will have the best of everything by science!

"Oh, I want to say, twenty years or so, give or take."

"I see. And when exactly did your involvement with Roxanne Ritchi begin?”

He hummed happily, his dream Roxanne dancing with him in the middle of the floor. He’s twirling her now, her obviously blue dress unfurling around her legs like water.

 “She became involved with the game only in recent years and even then we had a strict Kidnapper/Kidnappee relationship during that time. She… _was_ Metro Man’s girl after all.” Even though it wasn’t true, he still couldn’t suppress a shudder at the very thought. (He stepped on her foot in his day dream. _Whoops.)_

Course, not knowing what was going on through that giant blue head of his, Roxanne to bit her cheek in order to keep from smiling despite his little slip of tongue. _Ok, just keep at it Megamind..._

Delaney's eyes shifted from one to the other for a moment, " _Metro Man’s girl_ … Heh. Ahem, moving on, I'm sure that, over that time, you've become well acquainted with evil, to the point of becoming evil _personified_ even..."

At this Megamind rested his chin in his hand, his Dream Self pulling Dream Roxanne against him, both gazing deeply into each other’s eyes.

"Why... yes…" He smiled fondly in memory of his many great battles… of seeing his plans unravel before him… of Roxanne being there every step of the way. "Rather well _acquainted_ indeed..."

"Hah, well I'm sure if anyone wants to apologize for murdering a beloved icon of heroism all they'll have to do is stop a psychopath and perform some minor community service." Delaney muttered offhandedly.

Roxanne glared at him but she noticed that Megamind didn't even react. In fact, he wasn't paying attention to what Delaney was even saying for at some point his head swiveled lazily in her direction and he leaned on the armrest awkwardly, watching her with the most enchanted look on his face.

 _"I want to take you to Paris."_ He mouthed silently at her.

But both she and Minion shook their heads and made rapid hand and eye gestures in an effort to make him return his attention back to the one in charge of this whole ordeal.

 _“Megamind please! Don’t look at us LOOK AT HIM!”_ Roxanne hissed frantically with Minion backing her up.

_“Eyes forward Sir!”_

Jeremiah noticed this with his sharp eyes and smiled. "So, you consider yourself a hero _now_?"

"Mm'hmm." Megamind agreed, eyes never leaving the woman who was desperately trying to divert his attention from her...

"No chance of you doing anymore evil whatsoever?"

"I am a changed man."  Dream Roxanne is leaning in for a kiss.

"But you just said that you've been evil for so long, isn't there a very high possibility that you could regress back into villainy?"

"Anything's possible I suppose." He purred in distraction.

There was a collective gasp as all persons within the studio went silent.

Megamind blinked and judging by the look of horror on Roxanne's face he finally realized what he just said. His dream date instantly dissolved into another round of anxiety. He could see it now; whatever fame he garnished going " _poof_!" His building crumbling _dust!_ His date - yeah, _definitely_ not happening now!

He straightened stiffly in his chair, "Erhm... What I meant to say was..."

Delaney just tilted his head ever so slightly, "Well now we’re getting somewhere... Tell me _Megamind_ , what are you thoughts on the recent overabundance of criminal activity lately?"

This time Megamind twiddled his fingers nervously, "We-well, it's because I'm the new hero - the uh, the new _top dog_ as it were! Of course there's going to be new criminals popping up to test my skills!"

But the man pressed forth resolutely, "According to reports from the other states, their resident villains are abandoning their cities and heading North - particularly the members of The Brotherhood of Bad Boys which, funnily enough, you were a member for, oh,  _twenty years or so, give or take_?"

His blue mouth parted ever so slightly as he narrowed his green eyes, analyzing this man. What kind of game was he playing? Was this some kind of test? To show the city how well he can stand under social scrutiny? Yes, that has to be it!

"I think I see what this is..." he treaded carefully. "You're just... testing me...  twisting my words, trying to get me to lose my cool..."

"Am I?" Delaney snarked, "What I find even more strange is that many of these members were also your former associates - in fact, according to the records... There were several who arched with you on and off during your  _twenty years_ of evil servitude... Care to explain?"

Megamind swallowed visibly, scrambling for any excuse to save himself. "I... I can't confirm anything that the Brotherhood does... To be completely honest with you, after a few years Minion and I were only members for the benefits packages; you-you know, vacations, holidays, full health coverage... the eye and dental plan was nice..."

The man's smile, looked as sharp as a razors edge. "So you'll do anything as long as it benefits you in some way... How... diabolical."

Roxanne's mind raced. She needed to stop before Megamind said anything more damaging to his budding career but _how_?! _She could not get involved!_

The former villain sat flummoxed. Holding up his hands he tried to explain the best way he could. "I mean, hah! Come _on!_ Let’s not lose focus here! Didn’t I even _prove_ this by becoming Metrocity's hero?! The bad guy, becoming _good_ and all that?  Roxanne said it herself... You can't judge a book by its cover, _right_? Only by the contents _within_!" Megamind tried sincerely, his head swiveling to look at her in anxiety. " _Right?_ "

Finger covering her mouth, the reporter nodded silently, feeling incredibly guilty for not being there to defend him.  Delaney just smiled that cold smile, "If most of the contents within is _pure evil_ , then that pretty much defines the genre of the book."

Megamind pointed at him, "Ah, but there _could_ be a plot twist!"

"Well maybe the plot twist in _this_ story is that _deep down_ you are just a wolf _masquerading_ as a sheep?"

"Well if you've _read_ all the way to the _end_ you will _find_ that I'm just a _sheep_ who _used to_ dress up like a _wolf_!" Megamind shot back.

 _Nice comeback._ Roxanne thought, wincing at the press storm that this interview was undoubtedly causing.

" _Actions_ speak louder than _words_!"

"Yet the _pen_ is _mightier_ than the _sword!_ "

Roxanne was by now, so embarrassed that she covered her face and began to shrink down as much as possible behind her furry friend who also seemed to be making an effort to make himself appear smaller despite his bulky body...

Twenty-five miles outside the city, beneath a certain little red schoolhouse, Wayne Scott, formerly known as Metro Man, winced as he watched the news, "Yep, I'm going to be hearing about this one."

With a shake of his head, he gave his golden Gibson a single strum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read, Review, please be kind.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you enjoyed this, dear reader! 
> 
> There's more to it... so... yeah....
> 
> You also wont see mention of the Doom Syndicate here as I... reallly don't feel comfortable writing as I have never seen them canon. Yeah, I know, but that's that.
> 
> If you see any typos let me know? Same goes if you have any questions... hehe...


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